Chateau Lagrange 2015

A sleek, pure style, with violet and anise notes running in lockstep from the get-go, offering a beam of raspberry, blackberry and cassis flavors. Features a light tug of graphite through the finish, but this is relatively accessible already. Best from 2019 through 2028. 23,333 cases made.

One of the furthest west of the Saint-Julien estates, this property has been greatly improved with investment from Japanese owner Suntory. The wine from 2015 is dense and impressively concentrated, perfumed black-currant fruits working well with the crisp acidity and solid structure. Drink from 2025.

Suntory bought Lagrange in 1983 and planted 60ha, so now more than 100ha are under vine. Lagrange is known for its freshness and accessibility. The 2015 is a delight, lean and oaky on the Nose with blackberry fruit and great finesse. It's sleek, not super-concentrated, but shows polished tannins and fair acidity. There's a touch of chocolate and a long, spicy finish.

Anyone who thinks that modern Bordeaux has become too soft or easy should taste this seriously tannic yet sleek and vibrant wine. So much drive and energy that the weak of heart should better stand back. Better from 2020 and has a couple of decades of ageing potential.

The 2015 Lagrange has a lovely, very finely delineated bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, cedar and light violet scents that err toward Margaux in style. The palate is medium-bodied with sapid black fruit. This is one of the few with finely chiselled tannins, dovetailing into a marine-tinged finish that is a joy. The 2015 is excellent. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting at Farr Vintners.

I love seeing wines continue going up in score. This vintage of Lagrange keeps getting better and better with every tasting. Now, you find a wine with depth, roundness, lift, concentration, and complexity. The fruit comes in layers with its sweet currants, edged with tobacco leaf and spice on the nose and on the elegant, silky, and fresh palate. This is showing great today, and should only get better from here. Drink from 2023-2050.

Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, subtle edge brightening, fine black cherry fruit, delicate liquorice and mandarin zest, a hint of precious wood, overall somewhat reserved bouquet. Medium complexity, firm texture, mineral, integrated tannins, salty touch on the finish, delicate vegetal savouriness on the finish.

Bright dark ruby colour with a purple hue. Floral and fragrant nose, nice purity some stoniness, dark berries, cassis, fine oak, and discreet butterscotch on the nose. The palate is still youthful but polished and pure with concentrated dark fruit, cassis and plum notes with intense but ripe tannin, and a long, dense and lingering finish. Pure, stylish and elegant.

75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot. Deep purple-garnet, dense in the centre, lilac hues at the edge. Black cherry and liquorice, displaying an exciting depth. Juicy palate, the tannins are soft and support the homogeneous flow, aromatic finish with plenty of fruit intensity. Very grand, but far from presumptuous. A large harvest (52hl/ha), but only a third was selected as Grand Vin. This will be a reliable, attractively priced wine to enjoy!

TWELVE ROOMS AND TWO SUITES Active wine tourism is practiced at Lagrange. You can not only visit the estate, but also hold seminars, organize banquets or even stay at the « Les Jardins de Lagrange ». Info: www.chateau-lagrange.com 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot. Rich purple-garnet colour, dense in the middle, lilac shimmer on the rim. Black cherries and liquorice, showing exciting depth. Juicy palate, the tannins are soft and support the homogeneous flow, aromatic finish with lots of fruit intensity. Very grand, but far from arrogant. A large harvest (52hl/ha) but only a third was selected as Grand Vin. This will be a reliable, attractively priced pleasure investment!

(75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot) Mineral, elegant, fresh, classic nose with red and blue berries, blackcurrant, cedar, tobacco, slate. Well-balanced, elegant, refined palate with good fresh fruit, plenty of fine tannins, silky, tightly woven structure, powerful, refined aromatics, long, fresh finish with many lingering aromas. 18/20 2024 - 2045

The fruit flavours from the first moments are plump, rich, round, and clearly successful, majoring on blackberry and loganberry, if a little soft through the mid palate. Fine tannins, attractive mint leaf finish. The lowest percentage of Merlot to date, this is good quality and will be approachable soon. Overall a great vintage, despite the excellent summer being threatened by a huge September rainstorm where 97mm of rain fell in St Julien (compared to 120mm in St Estèphe and 180mm in the most northerly stretches of the Médoc). It meant that the team at Lagrange brought in 85ha of grapes in 5 days, the quickest time on record (although in total the harvest stretched from September 21 to October 12). 35% of production in the 1st wine, 60% new oak. Eric Boissenot consultant.

The 2015 Lagrange is composed of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot. Deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out with opulent scents of creme de cassis, redcurrant jelly, and blackberry pie plus hints of Chinese five spice and rose oil. The medium-bodied palate is plush and juicy, with a lively line and a peppery kick on the finish.

Classic cedar notes on the nose, full-bodied, balanced, refined tannins, plenty of straightforwardness in the wine's structure, a classic of the appellation in the making.

More delicate than full-bodied, with a lovely fine structure.

The château suffered considerably from rain during the harvest and is not showing at its best. The colour is relatively dark with violet nuances and the nose is discreet with slightly vegetal notes. The wine is light, fluid, slightly vegetal, but with good density and well-balanced. Experience shows that it recovers in bottle. Medium-term ageing potential. To be revisited in bottle.

Purple-violet hue. Fruity, intense nose, well defined by red berries with notes of raspberries, a touch of strawberries and a refreshing hint of mint. Fruity and greedy attack. On the palate the wine is slightly creamy and well supported by its structure. It gives it vivacity and freshness while the tannins provide the backbone. Notes of cherries on the finish. An elegant, fruity and pleasant wine.

The Nose is aromatic, intense and relatively concentrated. It reveals notes of crushed blackberry, ripe/crushed wild strawberry and subtle hints of blackcurrant, menthol, violet combined with fine touches of Cuban pepper, spices, toasted oak and a subtle hint of liquorice and Bourbon vanilla. The Palate is fruity, juicy, elegant and offers lovely definition, depth, indulgence, a lovely weight, lovely richness, fine tension, a delicate acid line (in the background) and a good mouthfeel that is finely unctuous. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy strawberry, fleshy/juicy raspberry and cherry combined with touches of blackcurrant, a very subtle hint of plum and subtle touches of liquorice, cocoa oak and a subtle hint of black tea (at the finish). Good length and good persistence (with hints of liquorice in particular).

Dark, intense and youthful colour. Moderately aromatic nose with ripe fruit. Soft on the palate, flavourful in the mid-palate, with good body and a melting texture, the wine develops juicy, long and perfumed on the finish, with no harshness whatsoever. Beautiful persistence.